FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT TEXAS - PAGE 5

People from Texas and Pennsylvania used to have a pretty good argument over which state played the best brand of football. The winner of that argument these days might be Florida, both at the high school and college level. And at the professional level -- at least last year -- the strongest state was New York (if you forget that the Giants don't actually play there). Nevertheless, the rivalry between the Lone Star and Keystone states has been intense, even though they aren't the common geographical type of neighborly rivals.

Breathe easier, Penn State fans, and enjoy your trip to Orlando. Parkland phenom Austin Scott isn't going anywhere other than Happy Valley after he graduates next June. So say his coach and his high school principal, who on Thursday dismissed rumors that the record-setting Scott was having second thoughts about his verbal commitment to the Nittany Lions and was considering attending a college in Texas to be closer to his parents. "It's not true those rumors are totally false," Trojans coach Rob Melosky said emphatically.

Narciso Lebron Jr., 23, with the Army in Fort Hood, Texas, died Saturday, May 31, in an automobile accident on Interstate I-35 in Austin, Texas. Born in Allentown, he was a son of Narciso Sr. and Maria (Martinez) Lebron of Allentown. A 1991 graduate of Allen High School, he was an Army specialist and a cook for the past 1-1/2 years. Before that he was a security guard at Dorney Park for two years and at the Allentown Art Museum for a year. He was a member of Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church, Allentown.

The number of Lehigh Valley and Berks County men who say they were sexually assaulted by former Allentown Diocese priest Edward R. Graff has reached 11, according to Texas authorities prosecuting him. Word of Graff's arrest in Briscoe County, Texas, has brought emotional calls from now middle-aged men who say Graff abused them while they were teenagers, Texas Ranger Jay Foster said Thursday. Some wept as they recalled repeated abuses while they were altar boys or students in Bangor, Coplay or Reading, and others relayed tales of friends and classmates they said were also victims of the 73-year-old priest.

Perhaps the most telling statistic in Penn State's last six bowl games, including Wednesday night's come-from-behind 38-15 win over high-powered Texas in the Fiesta Bowl, is that the Nittany Lions have outscored their opposition 131-40 in the second half. The turnarounds have been so spectacular that it opens the door for speculation. How can a team look so bleak in the first 30 minutes like it did against Texas, and, then, out of the clear blue, come back and look so superior in the final 30 minutes?

Joe Paterno wasn't about to point fingers yesterday after Penn State was burned by Texas 17-13. To begin with, that's not his style. Secondly, he wouldn't have enough fingers to go around. To put it plainly, the Nittany Lions lost this one as a team. A total "team effort." The offense flopped repeatedly, and the record opening-day crowd of 85,973, basking in brilliant sunshine, cast a cloud over the proceedings with some hearty hissing, especially when the Lions let a late fourth-quarter drive fizzle at the Texas 13. And when Paterno turned to his defense for help, it, too, buried its head in the sand.

Greg Simons is in town this week hoping to lure Pennsylvania deer hunters deep into the heart of Texas. Simons, 25, runs Wildlife Systems, Inc., a Texas-based deer and wild turkey hunting guide service that's brought the typical costly Texas hunt down to a price that the average sportsman and woman can afford. And Simons, a Texas A&M-trained wildlife biologist, has his sights set on a few of the million-plus Pennsylvanians who pursue whitetails. "I see Pennsylvania as an excellent market for guided hunts in Texas," said Simons, who hosted a successful group of L.V. hunters last fall.

An unemployed doctor who owes more than $100,000 in child support skipped another court appearance Tuesday. So Carbon County President Judge John P. Lavelle ordered the $10,000 bail posted by Dr. Walter Fagan's elderly mother, Margaret McGinty Fagan of High Street, Jim Thorpe, be forfeited to the county. Lavelle also issued a warrant for Fagan's arrest. "He is a deadbeat dad of monumental proportions," Lavelle said. Fagan, 58, who was to have an extradition hearing before Lavelle, was arrested Feb. 15 after attending services at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Jim Thorpe; authorities believed correctly he would not be carrying a handgun in church.

Saucon Valley School Director Sharon Stack resigned Tuesday night after six years on the board, prompting another director to kick up some dust over who could succeed her. Stack resigned because her husband was transferred to Dallas for his job with AT&T. The New Jersey native and Lehigh University graduate, who was elected to the board in 2007, said she and her family were moving Wednesday. "Sharon has always stepped in when needed. She's been involved at the state level and now she's moving to Texas," said Superintendent Sandra Fellin, who presented Stack several gifts, including the Texas state flag, a stuffed longhorn and Lone Star coasters and napkins.

Carbon County authorities will hold $20,000 until Dr. Walter J. Fagan surrenders in Texas, where authorities want him on allegations that he owes $128,000 in child support. Fagan, an unemployed cardiac surgeon, appeared in Carbon County Court Wednesday and waived a hearing to extradite him to Houston. Fagan's attorney, Robert T. Yurchak of Nesquehoning, said Fagan has an examination with his heart doctor today, and will fly to Texas later. Harris County, Texas, authorities set an April 18 court appearance for Fagan.